Will Judge Brett Kavanaugh pass the test?

Will Judge Brett Kavanaugh pass the test?

Over the past month or so, there has been intensive news coverage around the globe regarding the allegations of sexual misconduct against Judge Brett Kavanaugh the attorney and jurist who serves Federal Judge of the United States court of appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. Recently, he had been nominated for Supreme court justice by the Republicans. He graduated from Yale and has worked for the supreme court since had a stellar career.

Allegations against Kavanaugh

Allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced around the time that President Donald Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Christine Blasey Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in the early 1980s. Three days later, two other women came forward, also accusing the Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting them.

As the investigation continues, Judge Kavanaugh has denied all allegations.

Source : Fox News

According to Ford – then a high school student – Kavanaugh and a second defendant, Mark Judge, forced her into a bedroom at a house party in 1982, attempted to pull off her clothes, and proceeded to rape her.

In a statement, Ford affirmed that she was genuinely afraid for her life. She managed to escape when Judge jumped on the bed, knocking all of them onto the floor.

On September 13, Ford’s statement became public knowledge when Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) told of a complaint against Kavanaugh by a woman who requested that her identity remain a secret. Feinstein informed federal authorities of the allegation.

According to Ford – then a high school student – Kavanaugh and a second defendant, Mark Judge, forced her into a bedroom at a house party in 1982, attempted to pull off her clothes, and proceeded to rape her. In a statement, Ford affirmed that she was genuinely afraid for her life. She managed to escape when Judge jumped on the bed, knocking all of them onto the floor.

On September 13, Ford’s statement became public knowledge when Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) told of a complaint against Kavanaugh by a woman who requested that her identity remain a secret. Feinstein informed federal authorities of the allegation.

The two other complainants in this controversial, politically – charged investigation are Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. In 1983, Ramirez was attending Yale. In her statement, she declared that Kavanaugh ‘thrust his penis’ into her face at a college party. Kavanaugh flatly denied having done this, saying to the New York Times that “This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen.” The genuineness of this allegation has been further complicated by the fact that Ramirez has had difficulty corroborating her story. To date, she has been unable to get confirmation from any of her former classmates that Kavanaugh was indeed the one who exposed himself.

Swetnick, who is being represented by Michael Avenatti, was willing to testify before the Senate Committee that in 1983, she, like Ford, was also a high school student who attended parties with Judge and Kavanaugh. Swetnick claimed – but didn’t specifically name either defendant – that many of the male university students ‘spiked and drugged drink so that the girls could not resist.’

Reaction from Kavanaugh and the Republican Party

Kavanaugh continues to deny any wrongdoing on his part. In mid-September, the U.S. Supreme Court nominee issued a statement through the White House stating that

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

Some members of the Republican camp criticized the timing of the allegations, believing it was an attempt to delay the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.

A total of 65 women who claimed to have known Kavanaugh since the early 1980s testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee asserted that Kavanaugh always behaved honorably and was very respectful toward women. There were also 85 women from Bush administration who supported him.

Senate hearing and Mitchell’s analysis of the testimony

Rachel Mitchell, the sex crimes prosecutor hired by the Senate Judicial Committee, stated publicly that a “reasonable prosecutor” would not put Brett Kavanaugh on trial based on Ford’s allegations given the weak nature of the evidence submitted to the Judiciary Committee. Mitchell is on the record for stating that there are many inconsistencies in Ford’s statements to the Senate Judicial Committee as well as the Washington Post and her therapist about the allegations of sexual assault.

Mitchell continued to lambaste the sketchy recollections of Ford’s account, saying that the complainant was unable to remember specific times and details with regards to how she got and from the party where Kavanaugh and Judge allegedly sexually assaulted her.

In her five-page written memorandum, the prosecutor states that she has concerns about the frequent inconsistencies in Ford’s description of the events that allegedly took place in 1982.

To conclude the hearing, Mitchell analyzed the testimony by saying that a “he said, she said the case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, who either countered her allegations or failed to verify them.”

Based on what she deemed to be flimsy evidence, Mitchell said that no one could prosecute anyone based on the evidence.

An FBI investigation: should the Republicans be worried?

President Donald Trump has given the FBI ‘free reign’ to investigate these allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. This is not sitting well with many Democrats, who have concerns that the Republicans are trying to influence the investigation by narrowing the scope and limiting the number of witnesses interviewed by the FBI.

Some government officials believe that Trump is trying to get the investigation over with as soon possible in order to clear Kavanaugh, so the nomination process can be continued before there is too much political discord. If the FBI does unearth strong damning evidence against Kavanaugh regarding sexual misconduct, it will indeed hamper the Republicans’ efforts to place the nominee on the United States Supreme Court.

From where things currently stand, it appears as though Kavanaugh will indeed pass the test, so to speak. Even if the U.S. Supreme Court nominee is cleared of all wrongdoing by the FBI, time will tell if the confirmation process will affect him negatively as he sets his sights toward the bench.